WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Aug. 2 that Joe Yiu Cheung, an alleged overseas stock manipulator, will pay close to $800,000 and be barred from the penny stock industry.

According to the SEC, Cheung controlled United American Petroleum Corp. (UAPC) and conducted an elaborate scheme to artificially boost the company’s stock price before dumping shares.

“Investors are often attracted to microcap companies and we are committed to protecting them from overseas manipulators and cross-border schemes. In this case, we worked with numerous foreign authorities to get the evidence we needed to expose Cheung as the man behind false promotional materials and hidden stock transactions,” said Andrew M. Calamari, director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.